Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Where the Crawdads Sing, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Survival, Necessity, and Violence
Independence vs. Human Connection
Education, Coming of Age, and Adulthood
Prejudice, Intolerance, and Acceptance
Summary
Analysis
Kya starts getting up early to collect mussels. She then spends her days hoping to see Tate. When she finally sees him from afar, though, she can’t bring herself to raft up next to him, even though she feels drawn to him. In this way, she develops a habit of watching him from afar, quiet and still as a heron. When she’s not doing this, she collects shells and feathers, amassing an impressive collection in the shack.
Again, readers see Kya’s desire for human interaction. Although she’s too timid to approach Tate, the mere fact that she can’t help but watch him from afar suggests that she naturally gravitates toward the possibility of connecting with another person. This, in turn, implies that even the most reclusive people inevitably seek out others.
Themes
One day, Kya is in the woods near a beach when she hears voices and sees Chase Andrews and a group of his friends playing in the sand. From the protection of the trees, she stares at them, paying particularly close attention to the girls in the group as they laugh. Kya wishes she could be one of them, but instead of emerging from her hiding place, she slinks farther back into the woods, making sure they won’t see her.
As Kya watches Chase and his friends from a remove, Owens reminds readers that—despite her unconventional lifestyle—she is just a young girl who wants to have friends and play with other children. Just like anyone else her age, she yearns for camaraderie and attention. What’s tragic, though, is that she’s cut off from this kind of companionship both because of her own fears and because of the prejudices that the townspeople hold against her.
Themes
One morning, Kya goes to Jumpin’s only to find that somebody else has already sold him mussels. Because of this, Jumpin’ kindly advises Kya to think of other ways to earn money, saying that she shouldn’t depend upon just one source of income. For the rest of the day, then, Kya catches as many fish as she can and then smokes them in the smokehouse that Pa used to use. The following day, she brings a large bucket of smoked fish to Jumpin’ and asks if he’ll buy them, and he agrees to take them on consignment, explaining to her that he’ll give her money if he sells them but that he’ll have to give them back if he doesn’t.
As Kya navigates her way through life, she’s forced to embody a certain kind of economic savviness that most children her age don’t need to consider. Because her livelihood depends upon whether or not Jumpin’ buys whatever she’s selling, she realizes that it’s in her best interest to have a back-up plan if he has already purchased mussels for the day. This thinking leads her to use the few resources available to her, once again proving her ability to take care of herself in a pinch.
Themes
That night, Jumpin’ takes the bucket of Kya’s smoked fish back to his home in “Colored Town,” a black village near Barkley Cove. When he shows the fish to his wife, Mabel, she says they look like something a dog would bring home, but he explains that Kya brought them to him. In response, Mabel says they need to find a way to help Kya, adding that nobody will buy the smoked fish. Mabel then decides to try making a stew with the fish and says that their church will be able to provide Kya with clothes and supplies.
That Jumpin’ and Mabel live in an area known as “Colored Town” serves as a reminder of the time period in which the novel takes place, and consequently of the prejudice and division that runs rampant throughout Kya’s surrounding community. After all, this is the American South in the 1950s, meaning that racism and segregation are still very much alive. It is perhaps because Mabel and Jumpin’ have experienced discrimination and injustice that they’re capable of empathizing with Kya, who—although she doesn’t deal with racism—also grapples with society’s intolerance because of her socioeconomic standing.
Themes
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The next morning, Mabel goes to work with Jumpin’ and introduces herself to Kya, telling her that they know a family who wants to trade clothes and other necessities for her smoked fish. Jumpin’ also says that he’ll give her gas for the boat as long as she keeps bringing mussels. Going on, Mabel tells Kya to come back the following day to collect her new clothes and supplies. Thanking her, Kya adds that she wants to start a garden but doesn’t know how, so Mabel walks into the bait shop and fetches tomato, pumpkin, and squash seeds, gives them to Kya, and explains what she should do to make them grow. That very evening, Kya plants a garden, and the following day she returns to Jumpin’s to pick up her new clothing and supplies, marveling at how much Mabel has given her.
The clothes that Mabel promises to give Kya aren’t actually from a family that wants her smoked fish. Readers know this because Mabel has already told Jumpin’ that she’ll try to make a stew with the fish, in addition to the fact that she plans to collect clothing for Kya from their church. In turn, it becomes clear that Mabel simply wants to help Kya, who she recognizes is in desperate need of support. To that end, she also gives Kya seeds and teaches her how to garden, thereby demonstrating that sometimes people need the support of others to help them increase their own self-sufficiency.
Themes
